Mother City Magic ~Cape Town

Sunday, 15 July 2012

Viva La France!! ~ Bastille Day Celebrations!

Even though it is freezing and very wet there is still loads of magic to be enjoyed ! On Saturday, I braved the cold and wet, as I just could not miss the Bastille Festival in beautiful Franschoek!

I donned my red, white and blue ensemble and me and my lil French car, Noddy, headed to join in the fun!

I was not the only crazy person to leave my warm bed very early on a weekend morn with a storm raging outside... As I entered the town this was my first glimpse...

Brrrrr.... I needed a cup of coffee and to examine my sanity!

In spite of rain and bitterly cold weather there were hoards of people and I was very chuffed with myself for getting there early and finding a parking! Spirits were high in spite of the rain and cold, as you can see, from visitors and officials alike!

And of course the town was draped in French Finery .... just like many of the visitors.

The tricolour of France waved at me from every building, lamppost, sign, tree, etc... To those of us, like myself, who hails from a French ancestry, it is of course a nod to history for placing us on the African Continent. Merci!

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Franschoek is also the food and wine capital and that is enough reason for a fest! I was happy to find this guy and his fire and stopped for a chat and to warm my hands. I can't work with gloves!!!

Viva La France!!!

This young man looked the part and willing posed for me! Thank you! Gorgeous isn't he just?

Further down the road, Gluhwein was being brewed and it was just the kind of fortification that I needed! The smell was intoxicating enough....hmmmm!

"Madame, be reasonable ... you need a red beret for that blue head!!"

And what is a French fest without an accordion?

My hairstyle for next year!!

Promise!

The food hall was a place of temptation and utterly irresistible!

Very fashionable French cupcakes...

You name it they had it!

Somewhere along the line I was awarded with the most divine crepes! Merci!

I was in a food hall, of course, when someone came in and said that the barrel race was going ahead in spite of the pouring rain.... so out I dashed outside, crepe in one hand , camera in other... no umbrella and took these pics. The course was set up....

Teams were waiting.... rain was falling....

Competition between the various farms was taken very seriously indeed. Supporter shouted for their teams and all manner of advise was doled out in every accent imaginable!

It is no mean feat to keep that barrel balanced, let me tell you! The barrel, inebriated of course, has a mind of its own but these guys had it waxed!

...um... and these guys...well, went a bit over the top...

A colourful parade...

Somehow, I missed the waiter's race but it might have been cancelled due to the wet weather or it might have happened whilst I was safely stowed away in the fabulous restaurant French Connection enjoying scrumptious fare!

You would think that the bad weather was a deterrent but as the day wore on the lines got longer and longer and might I add more jovial!

As I headed home I came across this poor guy, all alone without any customers to take for a ride. If there wasn't a fence in the way and I was not so wet I might have joined him. I considered climbing over the fence but, my feet would not cooperate!!

Live well, live the Cape Town Vibe

C'est la vie!

Veronica

xxx

Kindly regale me with a comment below in the comment box, I am all ears...

Hi, I've been a reader on this blog and your other "lifestyle" blog before, so am catching up with you; I'm in the U.S.A. So fascinating to hear about life in Cape Town again; your photos and travel essay are wonderful. As a former student of French language and culture in the teen years, I definitely always remember Bastille Day. It's so interesting to see the change in your weather; it looks very frosty. Here in America, of course, we're in summer and my local forecast is indicating temps in the 90-100 degrees (Farenheit) for the coming week.